Reviewed by USGSIndonesia47y ago
M4.3 earthquake 73 km S of Biak, Indonesia
Thursday, November 1, 1979, 00:56:16 UTC · 1.838°S, 136.110°E
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 73 km S of Biak, Indonesia on Thursday, November 1, 1979, 00:56:16 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.3
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 33 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
43 tons of TNT
That is about 1/354 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 11 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
114 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Maoke and Birds Head plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
33 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 50 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 150 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.21914 Biak EarthquakeMay 26, 1914 · 94 km E of this epicenter
- 7.955 km S of Biak, IndonesiaSeptember 12, 1979 · 19 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.8230 km W of Abepura, IndonesiaJune 1, 1906 · 282 km E of this epicenter
- 7.736 km NNE of Nabire, IndonesiaJanuary 13, 1916 · 146 km S of this epicenter
- 7.65 km SW of Manokwari, IndonesiaApril 27, 1944 · 254 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.6138 km SW of Insrom, IndonesiaMay 27, 1947 · 122 km W of this epicenter
- 7.3195 km E of Biak, IndonesiaApril 2, 1947 · 209 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2250 km ESE of Biak, IndonesiaSeptember 19, 1950 · 228 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 7 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 365 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1864M7.8
Irian Jaya: Manokwari
23 May 1864 · 155 km away · intensity VII
250 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1979M7.9
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
12 Sep 1979 · 19 km away
115 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1957M7.3
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
22 Jun 1957 · 106 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1914M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Japen
26 May 1914 · 93 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1916M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
13 Jan 1916 · 130 km away
- 1916M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
13 Jan 1916 · 146 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.